CATL, its Chocolate Swap unit and Huawei’s intelligent automotive components subsidiary Yinwang signed a strategic agreement in China on October 19, 2026. They plan to connect Huawei’s intelligent-driving systems with CATL’s battery-swapping network, allowing equipped vehicles to use data links between cars, stations and cloud services to find a station, enter and align for a swap. CATL says the process is designed to take 99 seconds, after which the vehicle can drive away autonomously.
Five battery-swapping models are planned for launch in 2027, according to industry reports. The first is expected to come from Epicland, a brand developed by Dongfeng and Huawei. Aistaland, the joint brand of GAC and Huawei, has also included swapping models in its future plans. GAC already sells a CATL-based swapping model, while a Dongfeng version has appeared in regulatory filings.
CATL reported 2,520 Chocolate stations across 200 cities as of September 29, 2026, and is targeting 3,000 stations by year-end. It also plans to build 900 Qiji swapping stations for heavy goods vehicles by the end of 2026. The article says all six major state-owned automakers—FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, SAIC, GAC and BAIC—have launched models using Chocolate technology.
The deal comes as CATL faces slower third-quarter net-profit growth and tighter gross margins. Expanding into energy services could give the battery maker longer-term relationships with automakers, while providing Huawei’s driving ecosystem with another vehicle service. The article presents the partnership as a route to bring swapping to more mainstream passenger cars.